◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈
◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈
SHE HAD FOUND THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO HIM WITHOUT ANAKIN KNOWING. Astrid didn't want Anakin to know why she was going to see Obi-Wan, it would throw some unnecessary problems in their relationship. Aware that hiding stuff from your significant other was not a good idea, the Jedi Knight had left Astrid with no choice. He wouldn't believe her theory for a second because "his love is just that strong" but there was more to it, Astrid was sure of it.
There was no explanation on why they could feel each other's emotions and feelings, nor why Anakin had become so possessive and protective. The two had to be interrelated somehow and it seemed that Obi-Wan was the only person who might know what was going on without spilling the secret to the Council.
Astrid hesitates slightly, hand stopping midway from Obi-Wan's door. Was this a good idea? Yes, she thought, shaking the doubt and overwhelming anxiety out of her head. Her fist meets the door twice and she waits patiently, anticipation eating at her gut, for Obi-Wan to open the door.
The door swings open, revealing a smiling Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was in his Clone Wars armor which slightly made Astrid disappointed. She wanted to know what was going on with Anakin. The Jedi Master opens his door wider, gesturing to her to come in, "Astrid, this is quite a pleasant surprise. Come in."
Astrid steps into the room, the warm smell of a blend of thyme leaf and bentonite clay. It was a clean smell that was just so much like him. The room was organized, even the clothes that were dirty were folded neatly in the laundry basket.
"Would you like some tea?" Obi-Wan asks politely, confused at Astrid's unannounced visit.
"No, but thank you for the offer," Astrid let out a small breath, this needed to be quick. God knows when Anakin goes back to the apartment. "This needs to be quick. I don't want Anakin knowing I was here."
"Okay?" Obi-Wan suddenly grows wary. Never had Astrid asked him to keep something from his former padawan. Something serious had to have happened. Did the Force bond mess with something between them? Did Anakin hurt her?
"I know this is weird, I just—I can sense something...in Anakin," Astrid sighs, pacing around the room. Her fingers tug gently at the roots on her head as she tries to conjure up what to say next. "Something is going on between me and Anakin, much more than just our love for each other. We can feel each other's emotions, Obi-Wan, I know for a fact that's not normal."
"You guys have a Force bond," Obi-Wan says, stroking the beard on his chin. It was a matter of time before Astrid found out, he knew she was smart enough to piece together that something was off.
"A what?" Astrid breathlessly mutters as she stops pacing. Turning to face Obi-Wan, her face scrunches up in confusion. So it was something with the Force. "But I'm not Force-sensitive."
"A Force bond doesn't require both beings to be Force-sensitive," Obi-Wan informs, sitting down on the edge of his bed as Astrid sits across from him on his couch, "it is when someone sensitive to the Force—mainly a Sith Lord—uses the Force to amplify someone's feeling for another. Thus why Anakin is so...protective over you."
"I'm so confused," Astrid's head drops into her palms, her fingers dragging over her tired face. Last night, she was unable to get any sleep. Her mind kept spinning with thoughts of what could be going on between her and Anakin. She looks back up, lips tugging downward, "so let me clarify, a Sith Lord...connected Anakin and I somehow, which is making him obsessed?"
"I'm afraid so," Obi-Wan replies. It pained the Jedi Master to see Astrid so helpless. She just wanted a slightly normal relationship with Anakin, but it seemed too far out of reach. He wanted to help, but he didn't know how.
Astrid's mind continues to process his words. After a beat, she speaks up, "has this ever happened before?"
"A long long time ago, yes," Obi-Wan sighs bitterly as he continues, "it was during the Old Republic when the Sith had tried to take over. One powerful Sith, Gage Treolo, had a Force bond with a fellow Republic senator. But the circumstances now are different."
"Are they, Obi-Wan?" Astrid anxiously runs her fingers through her hair. If she felt the darkness growing inside of Anakin, then there was no doubt the Jedi Master had also felt it as well. Her voice shook slightly as it dropped to a whisper, "I know you sense it too. The darkness that grows in Anakin. I want to stop it, but I don't know how. Please help me, Obi. We need to stop it before it's too late."
"Okay, we'll figure it out together," Obi-Wan smiles sweetly as an older brother would to their sister. He rises to his feet, eyes glancing at the clock, "I must go now, I have a mission on Christophsis, but I will keep in touch."
"Thank you," Astrid nods, pushing herself to her feet and heading for the door. She stopped at the sound of Obi-Wan's voice.
"We'll stop him, Astrid, I promise."
◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈
HER HEART HAD BEGUN TO POUND THE SECOND HER EYES CAUGHT A GLINT OF THE YELLOW SPEEDER PARKED IN THEIR APARTMENT'S PARKING. He was home. This was the last thing she needed. It was guaranteed that Anakin would ask where she had gone and if he wasn't satisfied with her answer he'd go prodding into her mind. Thanks to Ahsoka, she had gotten some information on how to keep a mental block up, but she'd never used it on someone as strong with the Force as Anakin.
"Fuck me," Astrid groans as she hops off of her speeder bike, feet landing with a quiet thud on the parking platform. From even many floors down from where her apartment was, she could see Anakin's silhouette waiting on one of the couches. His wide shoulders and built arms stuck out of the couch's shadow, a glass of some sort of drink swirling in his hand.
This was going to be bad. Maybe Klaus could help her.
The trip up to the elevator and down the halls to reach the apartment seemed to take so much longer. Her stomach churned with dread and a nauseous amount of apprehension. This was unhealthy, she was beginning to realize, that she shouldn't be worried about how he'd react to her going out.
The second she arrived at the door, she froze. What if she just had a sleepover with Padme? She could avoid this confrontation for just one day more, however, she'd be much too anxious to sleep at night.
As quietly as she could, she opens the door and enters the apartment. From the small walkway, you couldn't see the living room, which was relieving. As quietly as she came in, Astrid shut the door. The lock seemed to have different ideas by locking loudly.
"Shit," Astrid whispers, heart-dropping. All she had to do was pretend that everything was fine. Her lie was extremely believable, she went to Padme's house to hang out. The Nabooian girl would surely cover for her.
With a small smile, Astrid finally walks into the living room, eyes instantly falling onto her husband. His eyes shot up at hers, a cold shiver traveled down her spine as her smile slowly diminished. She needed to act her part or she was done for.
"What's gotten up your ass today, Ani?" Astrid's voice was humorous despite the mind-boggling amount of uneasiness swimming in her stomach. She could do this, she chanted in her head like it was some sort of prayer.
I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.
Ignoring her question, Anakin downs the rest of the whiskey that filled his cup, eyes narrowed onto Astrid. From the look in his eyes, he was trying to get in her head. From the small flare of annoyance that heated up her chest, she realized that Anakin couldn't read her mind. The mind block worked, thank fuck.
"Where the fuck did you go?" Anakin pushes himself to his feet as Astrid drops her purse on one of the decorative tables, back towards the Jedi. His voice was filled with indignation that shot out like venom, it was harsh and dark. A mirror stood in front of her, showing her a perfect view of her lover's irate expression.
Astrid's body tenses as she hears his footsteps draw closer. Fuck, fuck, fuck. This was much worse than she had anticipated. Her voice was firm and light as she spoke, a large contrast to her aghast expression, "I went to Padme's. Did you know she got a new speeder? I drove it, it's really..."
The warmth of Anakin's body heat cut her short, his cold hand gently sliding under her tight black long sleeve shirt. His breath fans against her jaw as his head dips down so his face is next to it. It was chilling how gentle he was being with her when he was so sullen. She was aware that it was to falsely reassure her so she could bring down her mental block and let him into her mind. His lips brush against her jaw as he said, "really what, sweetheart?"
Astrid swallows the growing ball of uncertainty that lodged itself into her throat as she spoke, voice wavering slightly, "fast, it was really fast."
"I bet it was," Anakin's irritation spikes as he realizes her mind block was too strong for him to break through. His hand that settled under her shirt pulled her taut against him, the free one gripped her jaw. "What color were the seats, my beautiful flower?"
Astrid felt her heart begin to race as his lips leave hot kisses all over the side of her neck. He was being too calm, it was eerie. Her eyes flutter shut as Anakin's moves towards the mirror to meet hers. Maybe it was the will of the Force, or maybe it was just Anakin's pure luck, but when she shut her eyes, she had just missed the yellow eyes that had taken home on his face. Her body was far from relaxed with how unsettling Anakin was behaving.
"They were red leather seats...oh," Astrid's head drops back, mouth slightly agape. Her vision swam for a moment as she processed the movement of Anakin's metal arm. The cool metal presses circles against her clit, sending sparks of pleasure throughout her body. The cold of the metal hurt in a way that made Astrid's knees weak and eyes roll to the back of her head.
"What about the color of the body?"
Her mind barely processed the words that had fallen from Anakin's lips as she was too entranced by her bliss. It was only when his warm calloused hand wrapped her throat, squeezing gently that she finally replied.
"White," she breathlessly responds, her hands fumbling to hold the hand that so generously gripped her neck.
Anakin smirks into her jaw as he sees her eyes screwed shut and her face twisted with gratification. The amber and yellow mixture had almost completely taken over the blue of his eyes, and he was aware—right now, however, he didn't care. The only thing his mind was thinking about was Astrid and her sudden trip away from the apartment.
"If I call Padme, will she tell me that you were there?" his fingers speed up, and a loud cry falls from Astrid's lips. Anakin felt himself grow harder and harder. Fuck, this girl could breathe and he'd be turned on.
"Yes," Astrid's back arches, her stomach tightening as she approaches her climax, "please don't stop—fuck."
"Open your eyes, my filthy angel," Anakin mockingly coos, his teeth scraping against her pulse point on her neck. His eyes were still burning a saffron color, but he wanted her to see that. He wanted her to see how crazy and angry he was for and at her.
Her green eyes slowly flutter to view, widening as his grip on her neck gets tighter. The yellow of his eyes was so much more terrifying in person, but she didn't care. Her lips parted as a silent moan spilled from her lips, eyes focusing on Anakin's feral face.
There was an animalistic glint in his newly colored eyes, something so predatory and avaricious. It only spurred her closer to her finish. His lips were curled in a sort of malevolent glee as he saw her fall apart and crumble into his arms.
Before she knew it, her eyes rolled to the back of her head, her back arched in overwhelming pleasure as a wave of pure serenity washes over her. Her eyes clenched shut as her body twitched in pure bliss.
When she finally recovered, she opened her eyes to find the angry ones of Anakin's, however, they were blue. Was she hallucinating his eyes? Pursing her lips, she turns to face him with wobbly legs that had yet to fully recover from just a minute prior, "why are you mad?"
"Why can't I read your mind?"
Astrid sighs, leaning backward to view Anakin's full face, "I want privacy, Ani, please."
Anakin's eyes narrow but he doesn't say anything. Something about how he stood and hovered over her was terrifying, especially with the marauding gaze that he'd poured into her. She was suddenly aware of how powerless she was if they were to ever get in a physical fight.
"I'm—uh," Astrid's eyes move to the floor behind Anakin, "I'm going to take a shower."
"I'll be here, princess," Anakin muttered, backing up to the couch he had previously sat on. She could've sworn he'd practically spat out the nickname. She stood, leaning against the decorative table, for a moment, eyes wide with disbelief. Anakin sees this and merely smirks.
Astrid had begun to realize that she'd asked for Obi-Wan's help much too late.
◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈
𝐢 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥
𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐢 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐥
𝐢'𝐦 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐡𝐬𝐨𝐤𝐚 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐜 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐡
𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐢 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰, 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐧
𝐈 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐘'𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐎𝐘𝐄𝐃!
◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈
◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈━◈